Recently, Movie Prop Collectors visited California to film interviews with CEO and President of premier auction house, Profiles in History, Joe Maddalena.
Joe granted us access to previews of some very iconic and historic original movie props and costumes, which will be featured in Profiles May auction of Hollywood memorabilia.
The interviews/presentations are in both standard and high definition video.
First up: Jeannie’s original first season bottle from I Dream of Jeannie.
We will be publishing a new video every few days so check back often and enjoy!
March 17, 2010
#1
Thanks for the response Greg.
I am by no means a Jeannie bottle expert, so I could never, nor would I ever, claim to be an expert on them.
I do believe Mr. Maddalena to be knowledgeable about Hollywood memorabilia, and I am sure he has done his research.
As you mentioned in your comment, a stopper was used “a short time”, so I unfortunately do not understand your assumption that the bottle may not be what it is because it has a stopper. I would think that when the prop department painted the Jim Beam bottles for the show, they painted the stoppers too.
I have read online that many bottles were utilized for the first season, and as they were glass, a few were broken and/or damaged during production.
In screen grabs of the first season bottle, you can see they are painted differently from one another as well, so more than one was used.
By all means, if you or anyone else have any concerns, I would share them with Profiles in History.
Thanks again for enjoying the coverage and commenting.
March 17, 2010
#2
To be honest, I’m not sure this is an origional, but still a great video addition to the site.
For starters the reason I have my misgivings, that stopper was only seen for such a short time before it was tossed on the sand, and never seen again, as a clear stopper was used after that. However, this could be a bottle strickly used for Publicity photos as the origioanl stopper was used in such photo’s. If this does turn out to be the real deal, I agree, this Tv Show prop is the Holy grail of Tv props.
March 23, 2010
#3
This bottle seems to be off in the design and paintjob.
Does anyone know exaclty what proof there is that it is an original publicity or screen used bottle? Where is the paperwork? How can someone contact this guy from the auction house?
March 23, 2010
#4
Nice job on the video and coverage, but the bottle does not match any of the bottles I can see on my dvd copies of Season 1.
March 23, 2010
#5
Thanks for the comments everyone.
There seems to be a few questions and concerns about the bottle on YouTube too.
All I can advise is, anyone with concerns should visit Profiles in History below:
http://www.ProfilesinHistory.com
If you believe you have information that will assist them in the description and attribution of a prop or costume, by all means please do so in an email. Be sure to include photos and documents that support any concerns you may have. I have always found Profiles in History willing to hear legitimate information in regards to something they are auctioning.
As I stated originally, I am not a Jeannie bottle expert, but I do know that while it is possible to screen match some props, you usually cannot.
I have screen matched many, not all, of the props in my collection. Though that is an exception, and not the rule.
Keep in mind that just because one can’t screen match a prop, does not automatically mean it is not an original production made or used item.
March 23, 2010
#6
I don’t doubt the authenticity of this item , I believe that the bottle can be confirmed if you have time on your hands to sit through the screening of the first season episodes and cross check with the publicity stills. taken at the time.
I believe that this may be THE first actual screen used bottle with original cork possibility used on location… The cork was misplaced on the beach, as part of the story line.
Looking at the first season on DVD, you can see that the paint work of the gold leaves does change, the artwork on some episodes looks as though it was impacted by alot of handling and as they had stunt bottles ie flying, more than one bottle was used… As mentioned by the main article on this website, the design of the screen used first season bottles does change and I’ve noticed that in watching the series on DVD as well. I think alot of people will be defensive about this bottle ie whether its just jealousy or envy. It would be a blast to own an original prop.
March 30, 2010
#7
To me, the bottle does not seem to be like any of the first season bottles I have seen on the dvd or in publicity shots.
April 4, 2010
#8
This looks like a bottle I saw at NBC years ago in one of their display cases. The one in the case was in similar condition as this bottle. Is it the same? It is so hard to tell if it was used in the show or not. I checked screen captures and there were different paint styles used. Didn’t profiles in history sell one of these in 2000 or 2001? If they did, how could this one be the only real one like he says in the video? I don’t get it.
April 6, 2010
#9
I don’t see why all of the fuss. So many “backseat driver” responses.
Ian’s points seem to be the only reasonable one. Nobody can be sure of anything, unless they either made the bottle for the show or they own one and compared it to this one in person.
Just wait for the auction catalog to come out. I am not going to comment on the bottle’s history because I like to wait for the facts to come out first.
Nice video btw.
April 11, 2010
#10
Thanks for sharing, please keep us posting about this info. I’d like to read it more.
May 29, 2010
#11
Really great read! Honest.
May 30, 2010
#12
If only more people could hear this.